Refractory block used in building metallurgical furnaces



June 29 ,'1926. y 1,550,303

L.. s. LONGENECKER REFRACTORY BLOCK USED IN BUILDING METALLURGICALFURNACES Filed Jan. 26, 1925 the tongue and groove construction herepermits the use of cement between the blocks,

if desired, and also allows some relative adjustment of the individualblocks.

The tongues 3 and -the grooves 4 may extend either the full length ofthe blocks or for any desired fraction of their length. As shown in thedrawing, these tongues and grooves occupy about three-fourths of thetotal height of the block, and this proportion I have found to beentirely satisfactory in actual use. It will be understood that thisinvention is not confined to these particular proportions, and that thetongues and grooves may be made shorter or longer if desired.

Fig.` 5 shows what happens when,v one of the Atiles 2 becomes broken atsome point between its lower end and the tops of the' of the downwardlyflaring shape of the` tongues and grooves, the broken part 10 of.

the tile is held in the` position shown in Fig.

5. The broken part is prevented from slipping out sidewise by the rinson o posite sides of, the ring which inclu es the hroken tile, and thegrooved side of the broken-part cannot slip off the tongue inasmuch asthe endwise pressure or ring load will hold the tiles together. In thisposition the lower `end of the vbroken part 10, which is the glazed endofthe tile, protects the upper part 11 from the action o the furnacellames, and for this reason, the roof remains, for all practicalpurposes, as strong as it was before the tile was broken. a

In assembling a furnace roof ring of the ltype illustrated herein it isnecessary to insert key-blocks or driving blocks at suitable' intervals,and these blocks are made like the blocks shown in the drawing, exceptthat one face of the block is left smooth. For convenience I provides'ome key or driving blocks with grooves only and some with tonguesonly, so as to suit all conditions of use.

The thickness of the tongues and grooves is not important, provided theyare thick enough to obtain the proper interlocking between the tiles,and are not so thick as to weaken the tiles.

In the construction shown, the base of the tongue occupies aboutone-half of the face of the block, and while I have found this to besuitable, it is subject to variation as maybe desired.

The blocks provided with tongues and grooves according to this inventionmay be laid up by the mason as quickly as smooth blocks, and their costof manufacture is not greatly in excess, since no additional materialnor labor is required. I am aware that blocks have been made withinterengaging pro'ections and depressions of various klnds, ut in allsuch cases that are known to me, the function of the interengagingportions is to hold the blocks in position when they are originally putin place. The tongues and grooves of this invention have no suchfunction since the blocks will be held together when first assembled,whether the tongues and grooves are present or not. It is only whendisplacement occurs, by the breaking of a block or otherwise, that thetongues and grooves become effective in maintaining the continuity ofthe structure made up therefrom.

As stated'above, the regular triangular shape of the tongues and groovesis preferred, as this shape lends itself most easily to convenientmanufacture and assembly. However, the sides of the tongues and groovesmay be curved either inwardly or outwardly as desired, lor given another -shape which provides increasing width toward thebottom of theblock.

Refractory blocks are made in a variety of shapes and sizes, some havingparallel sides and others being tapered to a greater or less extent foruse in arches of various sizes. This invention is of course applicableto all of these -various shapes and sizes.

This invention is not restricted to the use of any particular material,but may be applied to blocks made of silica, clay, magnesite, chrome orany other suitable material. Neither is itrestrioted to blocks-*for usein making arched roofs, since flat roofs',

while they are suspended from hangers instead of being self-supporting,present much thesame problems as arched roofs. The improved blocks havethe same advantages in both cases. It will also be understood that theconstruction herein shown may be employed in making blocks for purposesother than refractory roofs and is a licable wherever it is desired toprevent ments of blocksfrom substantial movement relative one to theother, as in floors, roads,

pavements and the like, and that no limitations are to be imposed uponthis invention ocks or fragy except such as are indicated in theappended g claims. g l

I claim as my. 1nvent1on: g 1A 'A furnace roof composed of refractory`blocks arranged side by side and held toweones gether mainly bypressure between their engaging surfaces, said blocks beinginterconnected by means of tongues and grooves extending in a generallyvertical direction, the said tongues and grooves being narrower at oneend than at the other, and thereby operating to prevent broken fragmentsof said.

blocks from falling away from said roof.

Q. A furnace roof composed of refractory blocks arranged side by sideand interconnected by means of tongues and grooves of generallytriangular form and having their apexes uppermost, the said tongues andgrooves operating to prevent broken fragments of said blocks fromfalling away from vent chipping of saide ges and top portions and tofacilitate the manufacture of said blocks and molds.

4. A furnace roof composed of refractory blocks arranged side by sideand held together mainly by pressure between their en-I gaging surfaces,said blocks being interconnected by means of triangular tongues andgrooves extending in a generally vertical direction, said tongues andgrooves operating to prevent broken fragments of saidrblocks fromfalling away from said roof, and the said grooves being sufficientlywider and deeper than said tongues to provide clearance therebetweenwhen the bloclrs are as sembled together.

5. A refractory block provided on one of its faces with a triangularprojection having its base at one edge of said face, the said blockbeing also provided with a recess or groove on its face opposite to saidprojection, the said groove conforming in position and shape to saidprojection.

its faces an integral projection lor tongue eittending from one edge ofsaid face and progressively narrowing toward the opposite cud of saidface, the said block also havingin its opposite face a recess or grooveconforming in position and shape to said projection, the edges andapeXes of said tongues and grooves being modified to prevent chipping ofsaid edges and apexes and to facilitate manufacture of said blocks andmolds.

7. A furnace roof composed of refractory blocks arranged side bv side,and means for interconnecting the lower ends of said blocks to preventbroken fragments thereof from from said roof. furnace roof composed ofrefractory blocks arranged side by side, said blocks being retained inplace mainly by pressure between the engaging surfaces of said blocks,and means for interconnecting the lower ends of said blocks to preventbroken fragments thereof from falling from said roof.

9. A furnace roof composed of refractory blocks arranged side by sideand held together mainly by pressure between their engaging surfaces,said blocks being interconnected by means of tongues and grovesextending in a generally vertical direction, the said tongues andgrooves being narrower at their tops than at their bottoms, and therebyoperating to prevent broken fragments of I saidf blocks from fallingaway from said roo 10. A furnace roof composed of refractory blocksarranged side by side and interconnected by means of tongues and groovesof generally triangular form and having their apexes uppermost, the said'tongues and grooves operating to prevent broken fragments of saidblocks from falling away from the roof.

11. A furnace roof composed of refractoryy blocks arranged side by sideand held tdgether mainly by pressure between their engagin surfaces,said blocks being interconnecte by means of tongues and groovesextending in a generally vertical direction, the said tongues andgrooves being narrower at their tops than at their bottoms, and therebyoperating to prevent broken frag ments of said blocks from falling awayfrom said roof, the edges and top portions of said tongues and groovesbeing modified to prevent chipping of said edges and top portions and tofacilitate the manufacture of said blocks and molds.

12. A furnace roof composed of refractory blocks arranged side by sideand held together' mainly by pressure between their engaging surfaces,said blocks being interconnected by means of triangular tongues andgrooves extending in a generally vertical direction, said tongues andgrooves operating to prevent broken fragments of said 6. A refractoryblock having on onel of blocks from falling away from said roof, and thesaid grooves being sufficiently wider and deeper than said tongues toprovide clearance therebetween when the blocks are assembled together.

13. An integral block having on one of its faces a retaining portionoffset from the plane of said face, said offset portion extendingupwardly from the base of the block and widening progressively from oneend to the other.

14. A block having on one of its faces anV integral projection or ton uewhich, when the block is in use, exten s in a generally verticaldirection from the base of the block and widens progressively from itstop to vits bottom, said block also having, in its Yface opposite tosaid projection, a recess or groove conforming in position and shape tosaid projection.

l5. A refractory block having an integral triangular projection foriiiedon one of its faces and a triangular recess or groove formed in theopposite face of said block and opposite to said projection.

16. A refractory bloclvprovided on one of its faces with a triangularprojection having its base aty one edge of said face, the said blockbeing also provided with a recess or groove on its face opposite to saidprojection, the said groove conforming in position and shape to saidprojection.

17. A refractory block having on one of its faces an integral projectionor tongue extending from one edge of said face and progressivelynarrowing toward the opposite end of said face, the said block alsotongue having its base at one edge .of said face, the said projectionextending from a sinall fraction of the length of said block to the fulllength of said block, and the said block being also provided on itsAopposite face with a recess or groove conforming in position and shapeto said projection.'

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed niy naine this 19th dayof January, 1925.

LEVI S. LON GEN ECKER.

